The Crown
by Dl9571
Summary: My continuation of The Elite. Who's excited for The One? I'm not a good writer, but if you want to try it out, you're welcome to! MAXERICA Y'ALL
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everybody! This is my story. Constructive criticism is ALWAYS welcome, and suggestions are awesome! If you like it, review, follow, or favorite! Next chapter should be up soon.**

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I was practicing walking with several books on my head (just kidding. I was reading some the budgeting graphs that Silvia had given me to study.) when I heard a knock at my door. I set the graphs I was reading to the side, and hopped up to get the door.

I swung it open. "What- Elise?" She was standing in her robe, shaking. Very un-Elise. "Why are you here? I mean, what's wrong? Come in. Girls, draw her a bath."

"No. No bath. I just need to talk to you." Elise said, shakily.

"Well-alright. But at least have some tea, or something to eat." I protested.

"Fine. I don't care." She snapped. She saw my expression, and softened. "I'm sorry. I just really need to tell you something." She eyed my maids. "Alone."

"My maids can keep a secret. Can't you, girls?"

"Of course, miss. Lady Elise, you don't have to worry about us." Mary chimed, oddly chipper.

"Alright. But if anyone finds out, it could be the end of all of us." All four of us nodded. "Well, I'm just going to have to say it. I am- well I guess was, but kind of still in- a relationship with a guard." My maids gasped, but I sat there in shock. Another girl? How? Now there was 3 girls who hadn't been loyal to Illèa's prince. "He was deported to New Asia yesterday, and I just found out."

"Oh, dear," Anne cried softly, clutching her hands to her chest. I couldn't imagine how I'd feel if Aspen was shipped off to New Asia without warning.

"I just don't know what to do!" Elise wailed. "I might not see him again. He might die! Oh, god." She began to hyperventilate.

"Elise! Elise. Do you know his name? His province might be helpful too." I tried to keep myself in check, for her sake.

She calmed herself enough to answer me. "Well- yes. I know his name. I'm not going to tell you, though. But his province was Angeles."

"Elise, I think you need to tell Maxon." She looked startled. "No, not like that. Just tell him you need to go home. Sadly, the chances of your guard coming back are pretty slim. But if he does, he lives in your home province. Maybe one day, you would see him again. But the longer you stay here, the more chance you have of someone finding out. Going home is the best way to protect him, and yourself."

"America's right," said Lucy. Anne and Mary nodded with her. "You'll be protecting him by doing this."

"I guess you're right. I'm just afraid I won't be able to find him again. If he lives." Elise looked at the floor.

"If it was meant to be, you'll find each other again. If you don't, someone better will come along. Trust me." I glanced out my window. "You should get going. It's getting late."

"Thank you, America. I'm sorry if I bothered you." Now, that's more like her. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, then. Good night." Elise said, drained.

"Of course. Good night, Elise." I closed the door gently, wondering what in the world had just happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**Next chapter should be up tomorrow! Maybe 2, or 3! Thank you to everyone who reviewed or followed or favorited! Love you guys! **

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The next morning went as usual. Elise was still here. We sat at our table, in awkward silence. Kriss and I were chatting about our hometowns when the King stood up. His eyes were stuck on me, and I shrank back in my chair.

"Ladies," he said, finally glancing away from me. "I get the pleasure of announcing your next project. As you know, our Christmas Ball is coming up. You ladies will each have a part in planning. Meet in the Women's room, where Amberly will explain this more in detail." He gave us a curt nod, and sat down. Amberly raised her eyebrows, letting him know he forgot something. Exasperated, he stood up again. "Also, we are celebrating Lady America's birthday next week. Amberly will also give you the details of the celebration in the Women's room."

I looked to Maxon. He was staring at me. I tugged my ear, but with an easy expression, asking him. He shook his head slowly. _I'm sorry._ I looked away. I would see him later, I thought to myself. Don't be stupid and get worked up over this, America. He probably has meetings. Act like a lady. So I smiled and nodded at him, letting him know I understand. I turned to continue my conversation with Kriss, but she was already gone.

* * *

"Alright, girls. We have lots of planning to do, with America's birthday coming up, and the Ball! Silvia and I will be able to help you through this. Honestly, I am so excited you girls get to do it. It's great experience for one of you, and don't tell anybody, but I'm glad I'll get a few weeks to relax!" The queen told us in the Women's Room. "Let's start with your assignments, then we'll get to questions, then we could get some work done! Kriss, you'll be in charge of invitations and the seating chart. Elise, you'll be dealing with music and acoustics of the room. Make sure you coordinate with Celeste for the acoustics of the room, because she is in charge of decor. America, you'll be handling our food and you'll be the main host of our guests. Any questions?"

"Should we all coordinate? You know, so we don't all end up clashing?" Kriss piped.

"Of course! Definitely. I recommend it." Amberly replied. "Anything else? If you have any questions that you want to ask privately, don't be afraid to do so." Nobody answered. "Well then, let's get to work!"

She handed out our packets. Mine had something scrawled on it. _Meet me in my office after lunch. Tell nobody._ I looked up at her. Amberly winked at me. I smiled.

My packet consisted mainly of holiday foods, what was used in the past, and what was/wasn't appropriate for a hostess to do. I was pretty excited about my job. I mean, practically the whole job was tasting the food! Also, what did the queen want to talk to me about? I forgot all about the queen when I saw a picture of Crème Brûlée. I mean, _sugar glazed?_ Delicious. May would simply _have_ to try it, and I haven't even eaten it? "Silvia?" I asked.

She popped up at my side. "Yes, dear?"

"Are the families coming to the ball?" I tried to hide my hope.

"Well, yes, I think so."

"Yes! Kriss! The families are coming!" I squealed, and Kriss's eyes widened. She smiled at me, and laughed.

"Let me check. I'll be right back." Silvia said, and dashed out of the room.

"Why do you want to see your family so badly, America? You'll be going home to them soon enough." Celeste rolled her eyes.

I fumed. How did she get under my skin like that? I needed to think through my options. I could scream at her. But that would give the king another flaw of mine to point out. So I said, "I miss them. Do you miss your family? I wonder if they miss you." Then I pouted my lips at her. Maybe that was a bit much. But it's too late now.

"You little bi-"

"The families are coming! Sorry I had to leave, I didn't want to give you guys false hope." I wonder if I could ever be more happy to see Silvia.

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**In case there was any confusion, when Silvia said "The families are coming!" She meant they are coming to the ball. Anyway, review, favorite, follow, whatever! Any consructive criticism is welcome. Suggestions would be awesome! Thanks guys!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys! This chapter is longer than the others. It might take a while to get the next one up, I don't have any of it written yet. I know we haven't got much of Maxon but he's in this chapter, and he will be in the next too. Hope you like it!**

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I looked at the stairs. I had never been on the third floor. I started up them, and went towards the Queen's office. Before I could step on to the floor though, a guard stopped me.

"I'm sorry, Lady America, but you can't go any farther. The third floor is for royals only." The guard looked sorry for me.

"I have permission from the queen." I told him.

"Oh. Well, then, I guess carry on."

I moved towards the left, then I realized I had no idea where I was going.

"Sir? Could you tell me where her office is, actually? I have no idea where I'm going." I laughed at myself.

"Of course. This way, Lady." I followed him as he navigated the large halls.

"I didn't catch your name. What is it?" I inquired. He turned toward me.

"Officer Markson, Lady. I believe we have met before." He chuckled.

"Oh, yes. Officer Markson. I do believe we have met. Probably not the way most people meet, fainting into someone's arms."

"Perhaps." He opened stopped by the door to the office. "Good luck, Lady America. Don't tell anyone," he whispered, "but we're rooting for you."

"I appreciate it, Officer. Thank you. And be careful." I opened the door to Amberly's office, and stepped in.

* * *

"America! I'm so glad you could make it. Sorry about the secrecy. We cannot have anyone knowing about this." Amberly was sitting at her desk, a teacup to her right.

"Of course! I mean, what choice do I have?" I joked.

"Sit down. I have a something very important to tell you."

"Okay. What is it?"

"Patience, America. I want to help you. I would be willing to meet you every Wednesday, and help train you into a princess. Let's face it, America. You're not exactly a perfect princess, packaged with a bow and ready to use. But we can work on that. Silvia has offered to give you structured lessons every Monday and Thursday, and is willing to give you help when you ask. What do you say? I think you would benefit a lot from this. I'm rooting for you, America."

_ The queen is rooting for me,_ I thought. "I would be honored."

The queen let out a sigh. "Thank you."

"Thank _you_," I tell her.

"Well, since we could do a little bit today, I would like to discuss this week's report."

I think my face visibly paled.

"I think you should say you're sorry. That's important. You need to put the blame fully on yourself, even though you didn't do anything wrong. Make a few jokes about your temper, though. You don't want to cause a scene, and don't make it bigger than it is. Don't stress too much about it, 'll be alright. And don't let the king get to you. Now I have a few meetings to get to. I'm sorry this was so short, but I hope it helped." She gathered her things, and started towards the door. "Are you coming? Or are you going to sit in my office the whole day?"

I looked at her. "Oh my gosh, I'm sorry. I was thinking about the report. I'm coming. And really though, thank you so much. This alone has really helped me." I followed her out, and we parted ways at the bottom of the stairs.

On the way back to my room, I bumped into Kriss. "America! I was looking for you. Did you hear? Elise went home."

I tried to act surprised. "Really? When?"

"About an hour ago. But you know what I'm thinking?"

"What?"

"Who will be in charge of music for the ball? And when are we going to find out about your birthday? Also, what do you want?"

"Woah, slow down. But I agree. And I don't want anything. We're living in a palace. We can have anything we want, remember?"

"I guess you're right. But your song for me was so beautiful, I'll find something to give you. See you soon, America."

"Bye, Kriss." She was definitely one of my best friends. I vowed to never do anything to hurt her chances. I started towards my room again.

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It was 5 o'clock when I heard a knock at my door. I was in the middle of reading about what Osso Bucco was, and I groaned inwardly.

"Yeah- Maxon!" I threw my arms around him. He chuckled.

"I've never seen you so glad to see me. Quite a change from our first meeting."

"Well, I'd say. Maxon, I was just reading about this thing called Osso Bucco and-"

"It's pronounced os-o boo-co. And it's delicious."

"Really? Because I'm in charge of food, and I was thinking of having that as part of the appetizers? What do you think?" I asked.

"It's more of an entrée thing. Very meaty."

"Oh, okay. Thank you."

"Of course. My mother wanted me to tell you that you will be taking Elise's job. It shouldn't be too hard for you, since your pretty familiar with music." He told me. My shoulders sagged. So that was what he came here to do. I thought it was too good to be true.

"Alright, then. I guess I'll see you at dinner then." I turned to close the door.

"Wait! That isn't all I came here to do. I wanted to go for a walk with you. I haven't seen you in forever."

"Really? Okay. Are we going outside?" I asked him.

"If you want to. It's getting cold though, so if you want to go outside, you should grab a jacket or something to keep you warm."

"What, I can't use yours?" I joked.

"Well, of course you can, but-"

"Maxon. I was joking. Don't worry, okay? I got a wrap right here." It was white, and went with my deep purple gown perfectly. "Do I look okay?" He gave me a once over, and I laughed.

"You look beautiful. Let's go. I want to spend as much time with you as I can."

"Who's stopping you?" But we both knew the answer.

We walked in silence, my arm interwound with his.

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**Please review! It helps me so much to know you like it. Bye friends!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! This chapter is short but sweet. I have most of the next chapter planned out though. Maybe tonight, but probably not. FYI, the queen's meeting with america was on Wednesday, so this is still wednesday, and next chapter probably will be too. Review, follow, and favorite! thanks everybody!**

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"So, how have you been? I've been reading some budgeting graphs from a few years ago Silvia gave me. They're not very interesting, so I can see how those meetings would be." I told him.

"I've been better. I'd rather be with you. But yes, the meetings are quite boring. When I was younger, I used to just space out. My father had to make quizzes that I had to complete to make sure I was paying attention. Now I pay attention, because I am going to have to be king soon. I have to know these things, you know?" I nodded my head like I did know. But really, I wasn't dealing with having to be king. More like princess. Not focusing on the queen part, because if I did, I would probably start hyperventilating. "What have you been doing? How's planning? I knew you would love food."

"Did you give me food? I mean, did you let me plan the food part?" I asked.

"Well, not really. My mother had asked me what to give you. I said you would love food or music. I guess she gave you food. Do you like it?" He asked.

"No. Honestly, I think I shouldn't have to do anything." I scoffed, and rolled my eyes.

"Of course, Your Grace." He let go of my arm, and kneeled before me. The sight of the prince of Illéa, bowing to a member of the Selection, really _anyone_, was a sight to be seen. We both couldn't hold the scene any longer, and doubled over laughing. I almost fell from laughing so hard, but Maxon managed to catch me, before I hit the ground (and ripped my dress).

"Come- on... we have- to get going!" He managed to get out, trying to catch his breath.

"Alright, alright." We resumed our position, my arm twisted with his, and we continued our goal towards the gardens.

"Anyway, do you really like it?" Maxon asked again. We reached the doors leading outside.

"Of course, Maxon. Me and food go together like peanut butter and jelly." We sat down at our bench.

"Like you and me," he whispered, then kissed me.

"Your Majesty!" A guard called. Maxon broke away from me, exasperated.

"What? What could possibly be so important to interrupt my date with Lady America?"

"I apologize. King Clarkson requested that I remind you that dinner is soon, and you and Lady America should come in soon." The guard looked scared.

"Why must you interrupt me, still?"

"The King wanted it immediate. I apologize, Your Majesty."

"The fault is not yours. We will come in soon." The guard looked relieved, but didn't move. "You are dismissed." He finally got the memo and scurried back inside. Maxon moved back toward me. "Now, where were we..."

I giggled. He kissed me on the lips, his hands tracing circles on my back. A light snow had begun. "Look," I said, pointing upward. I smiled wide.

Maxon smiled back at me. "C'mon, let's go!" He shouted. He pulled me up, and ran towards the doors.

"Maxon! I can't go that fast!" I cried. He turned around, ran back to me, and swept me up so I was draped over his shoulder. He started towards the doors again, and I laughed. He pushed the doors open, then spun me around, and set me gently on my face.

"Are you alright, my princess?" He said, brushing a stray hair behind my ear.

"Quite well, my dear knight." I whispered back.

"I guess we should get going. A princess can't be late."

I moaned. "Alright. But if I become queen, I'm changing the standards."

"Of course you will. I expect no less from _the_ America Singer." I smiled at him, and in that moment, I could see our future. It was beautiful. And right there, I knew I had made my choice.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again! Might post tonight, maybe tomorrow. Idk. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter! Review favorite, follow! Thank you to everybody who has done so! Love you guys ;)**

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We walked into the dining room, hand in hand. I sat down at my spot, next to Kriss and across from Celeste. A pair of green eyes caught mine, and I could see his anger. I felt a twinge of guilt for being so obsessed with Maxon not seeing me, when I hadn't even bothered to tell him why I was still here. _Come see me tonight,_ I told him without a word. He gave me the slightest nod, satisfied.

"Where did you guys go?" Kriss asked. It didn't seem sincere.

"We just went to the gardens. Usual, nothing special. Although, today it did snow. Did you see it?" I replied, trying to ignore the fact that Celeste's eyes were burning into me.

"Was that your first date since _The Report_? I'm sorry, but I can't help that he's starting to see your flaws. Like you're a 5. And you ar-"

"Yeah Celeste, we get it." Kriss said. "America's screwed."

"Girls," The queen called. "If you would meet me in the Women's Room after you are done with your breakfast." She fled from the dining room.

I finished my dinner the same time as Celeste, and we both excused ourselves. As we were walking towards the dining room, a guard stopped us. He threw me against the wall, then grabbed Celeste and held a knife on her throat. "Let her go," I called. I was so confused.

"Only if I have you." His eyes were bloodshot.

I hesitated. Celeste was about to pass out now, as the guard (rebel?) was had her in a choke hold. It was now or never, and though Celeste may be mean, she didn't deserve to die. "Fine." He let her go and grabbed me in one movement. Celeste ran screaming.

"Walk towards the dining room," he whispered. His breath smelled of alcohol. I slowly walked towards it, unsure of his motives. I mean, he had a knife on my neck. They couldn't be anything good.

When we arrived at the dining room, Maxon was talking with his father. Kriss who had just finished eating, saw me, and dropped her fork.

"Kriss, are you o-" Maxon saw the guard with a knife at my neck. "Kriss." She ran over to him. Some staff who had seen what was going on had stopped behind Maxon and Clarkson.

"Let her go." Maxon said.

"Not until you give me what I want."

"Are you a rebel?"

"Yes. If I see one guard, I will kill her. Do you understand?"

"Of course." I could see Maxon forming a plan in his head. "What do you want?"

"One million dollars."

"Absolutely not!" The King bellowed.

"Alright. One million or the diaries. Or she dies."

"You think I care if she dies?" The King shouted.

"I know you don't care. But your son does." His voice was raspy, and I was having trouble breathing now.

"I'm sorry sir, but we don't have that money right now." I could see Maxon's desperation.

"Then the diaries." He tightened his arm around my neck, cutting off all breathing. I began to sag into the man, unable to hold myself upright. Maxon and the rebel exchanged a few more words, but I couldn't hear them. I heard a shot fired, and the man collapsed, his arm still stiff around my neck. He had me pinned to the ground. I still couldn't breath. Footsteps. Somebody pulled him off me. Maxon.

"America. America." He was saying. I gasped, like a fish out of water. "Oh, thank god. Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm- alright. A little shaken."

"You are certainly not alright." He thumbed my neck, and his fingers came away red.

"Just a little scratch."

"Yeah right. At least you've got your humor back."

"Who said it was gone?" I stood up.

"You should get your neck checked out." Kriss said.

"I'll be fine." I started walking towards the door. "Who shot him?"

"Slow down. You need to rest." Maxon said

"I told you, I'm _fine_. Now who killed him?"

"I did," said Queen Amberly.

Everybody looked surprised but me. "Thank you," I cried, hugging her. She seemed surprised, but I had no tolerance for properness right now. "Did you see Celeste? She ran off after I took her place."

"What do you mean you took her pl-"

Maxon was cut off by the queen. "No. We should send one of the guards to go find her."

"You're right." I replied.

"America."

"Yes?"

"What happened?"

Everyone looked at me, dying to know. "Alright. Basically, Celeste and I were walking to the Women's Room, like Queen Amberly asked us to. The guard knocked me into a wall and took Celeste. I convinced him to let her go, and take me. He did, then Celeste ran. I can't blame her, though. He made me walk over here. You guys know the rest."

"Well, now at least we know what the rebels want." Kriss said.

Without warning, my knees buckled. Maxon managed to catch me before I hit the ground. "America."

"I just- need to rest."

"Of course." He scooped me up and carried me to my room. "Go to sleep." He told me. He whispered something to my maids, then left.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey, I know I haven't posted in a while, schoolwork! Ugh.. I know this is short, but whatever. Hopefully I can post soon. Thanks guys!**

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When I woke up, it was dark out.

"What time is it?" I said groggily. All three of my maids were in the room.

"3 o'clock in the morning, miss," Lucy replied, yawning.

"What?! You should all be in bed!"

"It's alright, miss. We've been taking turns sleeping. We were switching when you woke up." Anne soothed.

"We have a letter from Prince Maxon." Mary said.

"Open it! We've all been dying to know what it says!" Lucy yelled.

"Lucy! Manners!" Anne yelled.

"I'll open it. Hand it to me." I said, and my stomach growled.

"I'll get you something to eat!" Mary cheered. "Don't open it yet! I want to see you open it!"

"It might not be special. It might just be him asking me to make him spaghetti."

"Don't be silly. He can have the cooks do that! He certainly wouldn't make a lady do that." Lucy called.

"Why not?"

Mary came back into the room. "They'll deliver the food as soon as possible, miss."

"Alright. Let's see what this says." I ripped open the letter. It read:

_My Dear,_

_I have probably flown to France by the time you read this. You shouldn't worry; it has nothing to do with the war. I'm sorry I couldn't say goodbye to you. My father was on my tail about leaving as soon as possible, I barely had time to write you this letter. I have two things to ask you:  
1. Please stay out of trouble. For our sake.  
and 2. Watch my mother. I am afraid she is sick. I've never told anyone. She gets worse when Clarkson and I are gone. Just make sure she is doing alright, and goes to meals.  
Thank you. I should be back before your birthday. Hopefully._

_Miss you already,  
Maxon_

"What does it say, miss?" Mary cried.

"Here, you can read it." I handed it over to them, and they devoured it.

"At least he'll be back by your birthday!" Lucy piped.

"The queen is sick?" Anne cried.

"Don't tell anyone. I _need_ Maxon's trust.

"Of course, miss. His secret is safe with us.

* * *

The other Elite, the Queen, Silvia, and I were gathered in the Women's Room. I was at a table, my hair swept into a messy bun (_chic,_ Mary had called it,), my navy blue gown draped on the ground. Maids were waltzing around, trays of small, bite sized entrées on their shoulders. I was holding myself from eating them, as practice for my self-control, but mainly because I had to go try the food I had planned in a few minutes.

"Here!" I called. "I finished." Silvia fluttered over.

"Perfect," she said, flipping through the packet. "Interesting," she muttered. "I'll turn this into the chefs. The food might take a while, so have something to eat. Work on the music while you're waiting."

I looked through my plan so far. In our house, Christmas was fun. We didn't always have everything we want. But we had each other. "Kriss," I said, who was sitting across from me. "What is your best Christmas memory?" She pondered my question. "Well, since I'm an only child, it was when our cousins from Clermont came and celebrated with us. That was so fun." I could see the memory in her eyes.

I asked Celeste what her favorite part about Christmas was, then the Queen's favorite Christmas moment with her family, then Silvia, and all the maids in the Women's Room. It was Amberly who asked me what I was doing.

I had an idea.

"Well, you see..."


	7. Chapter 7

**I know I haven't posted in a while, and I'm so sorry! School, oh school... anyway, I'm really not sure when the next chapter will be up. My schedule has been kind of rocky. Thank you to everyone who reviewed so far! If you catch an error in the story, or any questions you might have, or ideas, or constructive criticism, please let me know! I want to make this story good!**

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"Well, you see, I was thinking that with the invitation, we could mail a question. There might only be 10 different questions, but everyone is mailed just one. Then maybe, then could send back a photo, and on the back of it, they could write about it. Then we could hang all the photos around the room, or on the Christmas tree, or everywhere! And then we could all answer one question, and share it with everyone." I looked at their faces. "Just a thought, you know." I shrugged.

"That's brilliant!" Kriss exclaimed. Amberly clapped, and Celeste even nodded her head, even though she rolled her eyes too.

"We'll have to coordinate on that, America, since I'm invitations." Kriss said.

"Of course. This is going to be great. Let's get started, since I have to taste test soon."

"Actually, girls, we're going to take a break from the Christmas Ball, and focus a bit more on America's birthday. You guys can decide who is planning what, although America will be the head of the planning, which means any questions you have should go to her." She turned to me. "Anything you want done a certain way is your responsibility to make sure it gets done that way. If one of the girls messes up, it is your job to make sure someone gets it done right. You can take a smaller portion of the work, though, since you have to manage." She faced all of us again. "America's birthday is in a week. We will resume planning the Christmas Ball after that. Hopefully, Maxon and Clarkson will be back by then." I couldn't tell if she meant by my birthday or the Christmas Ball. "Get to work, girls. You've got a lot to do." She turned and left, and I saw how pale she was. It was unnatural.

* * *

"Okay. Theme. What should it be?"

"A movie?" Kriss suggested.

I turned to Celeste. "Your thoughts?" She was thoroughly examining her nails.

"Do you think I care?" She hissed. "Just give me my assignment so I can leave." I hesitated. "I won't mess it up." I put my hands on my hips. "Not on purpose. Not this." She replied.

"Fine. You can have music and lighting, and help with food. We can all do food, and help each other. Kriss, you want to do seating and invitations/guest list again?"

"Sure." She replied.

"Perfect! Then I'll do decorations. Now the theme." I thought about what I liked, and what made me happy here. Maxon. But I couldn't do a Maxon themed party, though the idea sounded appealing. What else? The gardens. But those were covered in snow. It might be fun to have a snowball fight, but not everybody would enjoy that. Food. Maybe we could use that. A baking contest? Maybe we could do nothing, like Kriss's. Maybe a mix.

"Let's just do a party where all we have is desserts. Maybe we could have a color theme. Gold." I said, happy with my idea.

"That sounds great! Let's get started." Kriss's enthusiastic tone was getting tiring. We were all on edge.

"Maybe we should work in our rooms. I'm tired, and I want to take off this dress. I can't breathe." I said, collecting my papers.

"Perfect. Goodbye!" Celeste practically ran out of the room.

"That sounds nice. We should check in after dinner."

"Alright. See you then!" I trudged up the stairs and into my room.

"What's wrong, miss? Are you okay?" Mary asked, folding the sheets she was stitching, and setting them down.

"I'm fine, just a bit tired. I need to take off this dress." I tried not to come off as whiny.

"Of course. Here." They helped me out of my dress, and I collapsed on the bed.

"Would you like a bath?" Lucy quietly asked.

"No. Can you just grab my jeans, and the t-shirt I brought with me? Thank you."

"Are you sure you are alright?" Anne sat next to me on my bed and rubbed my back.

"I have a bit of a headache. Other than that, just tired. I don't know how the queen can plan a party within a week, let alone 2 days time!"

"You'll learn. It'll be fine, don't you worry." She handed me my clothes. "I know we aren't supposed to do this, but would you like any help?" She must've noticed my surprised face, because she said, "What?"

"It's just that you never break the rules." I replied, putting on my shirt.

"Do not!"

"You do, too," Mary backed, and Lucy nodded.

"Fine. Maybe a little. But rules are for breaking, right?"

We all laughed. But nobody felt the irony but me. "Of course," I whispered. "But you don't always need too."

* * *

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